What is a project? It’s a simple question that will receive many different answers. A simple definition is that a project is a series of tasks that will be completed in order to reach a defined outcome. Others may add that a project should have a defined start and end date. PMI more specifically defines[…]
In the pharmaceutical industry there are many different types of outsourcing. There is functional outsourcing (research, development, commercial, regulatory, IT, etc.), outsourcing of roles, (project management, CRAs, chemists, etc.), and outsourcing of projects (drugs, vaccines, clinical trials, initiatives, software, etc.). To gauge the amount of outsourcing going on these days, consider outsourcing of clinical trials. In 2008,[…]
Sometimes it is hard to understand how pharmaceutical companies make hiring decisions. There is no doubt that hiring decisions in the pharma world are complex and risky. Still, after helping a countless number of pharmaceutical companies over the last 25 years, sometimes I still just don’t get it. Hiring decisions are critical to a company’s[…]
Demand forecasting—the ability to project demand by role and project—is an important part of resource management. Companies conduct demand forecasting in several ways. Some have project managers enter demand by role for, say, 12 months. Others communicate standards to help drive consistency in how project managers estimate demand. Still, others create demand forecasting algorithms to[…]
In the Life Sciences industry, we’ve been managing projects since the birth of acetaminophen. Recent years have brought a demand for project managers to manage “more tightly.” Already aggressive timelines are being further accelerated. Pressure for speed and efficiency is at a record high. Everyone involved in project management is rolling up their sleeves to gain[…]
The other day, a client asked me to define “project management.” I defined it broadly as the organization and management of work in an effective and useful manner. Based on that definition, I asserted that everyone in the pharmaceutical industry is a project manager. And I suggested that the more important question is not what project management[…]